Disaster preparedness

Britain is due to leave the European Union on January 31st

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed "grave concern" about whether the post-union deal could conclude a trade deal with the UK by the end of 2020.

The House of Commons of the British Parliament approved the bill for the country's exit from the European Union. 358 MPs voted in favour of the law involving the EU-agreed deal on the terms of the divorce. 234 voted against.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will present the Brexit bill to lawmakers today.

In the meantime, his government has set a timetable for ratifying the EU exit deal. It must be approved by the Lower House by January 9th. The agreement is then to be ratified by the House of Lords.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the UK's exit schedule from the European Union was "extremely challenging", Reuters reported.

The UK government will present its EU withdrawal agreement (Brexit deal) to UK lawmakers as early as Friday (December 20th), a Downing Street spokesman said on Monday.

The British after three years of wavering decided to ply their own course through Brexit and to break loose from the European Union.

By all appearances the impressive electoral victory of the eccentric and quirky Boris Johnson has cleared the deck and everyone now expects that by the end of January he will have the opportunity and ability to complete the Brexit process.

EU leaders have urged London from Brussels to ratify the Agreement on the Withdrawal Bill as soon as possible and to start negotiations on future relations.
"The UK will become a 'third country', but we will build a unique partnership. Brexit is not the end of something, it is the beginning of excellent relations between good neighbors", the European Commission President said.

Britain will lose its influence in the world and become a "second-rate player" after leaving the EU, said Donald Tusk, quoted by Reuters.

Proponents of Brexit point out that the UK is the fifth largest economy in the world and argue that leaving the EU will open up new opportunities in world trade.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held the first election rally of the campaign for early elections in Birmingham, where he stressed the importance of the vote. Johnson called the December 12 election to try to break the Brexit deadlock, paralyzing the country for more than three years and beginning to undermine confidence in the world's fifth largest economy.

European Commission President-designate Jean-Claude Juncker said on Monday that Brexit activists, including current UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, lied to British society ahead of the summer 2016 referendum on further UK membership in the European Union.